Going to See Phyllis Curott in Chicago, Witch Wars and the Power of a Sacred Circle

I have been going to a lot of Pagan events, because Pagans are very ‘divine feminine’ friendly. Friday night, I went and listened to Phyllis Curott speak on ‘How to Live in a Sacred World’. Phyllis and I have been friends via facebook and email for awhile now, and I realized after seeing her why I like her so much. She has this heart of gold; the lady cries for the state of Mama Earth and admits her personal fears and trepidations. But at the same time, she’s a badass. You can tell that there’s this fiery streak and iron will beneath those tears.

Obviously. I mean this is the lady attorney who took on the US Government multiple times and ending up changing laws so that it was legal to pray in any manner that you want, like holding hands in a circle, chanting and drumming.

People are still afraid today to admit to their Pagan beliefs, but Phyllis publicly came out of the ‘broom closet’ in the 80’s. The 80’s! Because she said she realized she could not practice what she believed … in fear. This is a gutsy lady. And really funny as well.

She is a true ‘trail blazer’, and I respect her tremendously. She not only got the World Parliament of Religions to welcome Paganism, but she was also the first woman to serve as its Vice Chair.

Phyllis organized the historic Inaugural Women’s Assembly and Plenary at the World Parliament of Religions in 2015 which finally got women practicing Goddess spiritualities up on the main stage with all the other religions. And she wrote the Declaration for the Dignity and Human Rights of Women adapted by the Parliament: a document that has to be updated at each Parliament.

We owe so much to women like her, and there are many that I have met, for having the courage to stand up and combat the misconceptions and false stereotypes about Paganism, the divine feminine, goddesses … for getting other religions to recognize that women and nature count, too, and a forest or a moonlit beach is a perfectly valid place of worship. There’s no monopoly on how you can reach divinity.

And that is her message; that All Life is Sacred, from the rocks to the plants to your computer to the oceans to the people, and that we must learn to treat it all as so, that we must learn to live in synergy with the earth and nature.

All of us: Pagan, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Agnostic, etc. All of us.

You can stay up with her via her newsletter here. She will be releasing a Hay House book in the near future and is working on her memoirs as well.

Witch Wars

On a side (but related) note: here’s something I notice again and again with Pagans I meet or Goddess women telling me that they are solitary practicioners and don’t meet in a sacred circle. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that they tried it, but it wasn’t for them.

‘Love the divine feminine app and the concept and connecting in cyberspace, but actually meeting in a small sacred circle regularly, nope, not for me.’

Phyllis touched on this a bit mentioning the ‘Witch Wars’ when the infrastructure of the Pagan community had a lot of in-bickering and rather fell apart but that it was maybe a necessary evolutionary step to the next level.

You see, let’s say you have recent historical traditionally male hierarchical structure of ‘leader/masses’. Well, then if your leader is good, your masses tend to be ‘good’. If you’re leader is bad, you have problems.

With Paganism and other things of a divinely feminine nature, we are talking of ‘circular’ things and cycles, spirals and such. You’re not looking for a ‘leader’ to tell you what to do and how to think, you’re learning how to look inside yourself. It’s a whole new way of living.

And I hear several of you questioning if we are capable of that: giving that much ‘power’ to individuals … oh my, scary. Can we really trust individuals to ‘do the right thing’?

I’ve had several conversations with my husband on why my ‘women’s circle’ has been such a huge vehicle of growth for me. He says things of the nature, ‘you better not give any advice, you could be liable ..’, ‘you’re not a psychologist’, and ‘are you sitting in there bitching about me all night?’

The answer would be: no, no and no.

The women’s circle that I have been hosting for the past four years is a ‘vessel’. We have these ‘time-proven’ ways of calming and preparing your spirit: breathing, meditation, music, smells, visual beauty, and then when you are ready, you are the one who does the work. Looking inside.

Writing down some intentions. Speaking your truth for a minute or two. It is the focus, and it is not the focus. Circles and the divine feminine are full of opposites, and this is one of them. No one gives advice. No one ‘grabs the stage’ and goes on and on about their problems and challenges.

And at least in my opinion, smaller is better. Our women’s circle has consistently had 3-6 women attending. Not the same 3-6. That would be great, and for a long time, I tried to make that happen. But then I realized how much I am changing, and the circle changes as well. It appeals to different women at different times for different reasons. And that is okay.

I spend the day setting up for circle but not because I care ‘how it looks’, but because I want to ‘prepare’, and I like to do this slowly and intentionally. I do this ultimately for God and for me. One and the same really: a day that I pause and am reminded of the Sacred in an effort to more live each day in that manner.

So why not just do this by yourself? Why do you even need other people and a sacred circle? Why do you need the divine feminine app to help you come together in these circles?

Because: we are social creatures. Like it or not, we’re all connected, and we all need to learn to live together in harmony. Yea, yea, I know: kumbaya. But it’s true. And it’s ultimately what will save the world.

And the way we figure out how to do so … is we start small. In a small circle, with a couple other women (people), we learn to create a Sacred atmosphere of love, acceptance, nurturance and growth: where you can come together; but at the same time, respecting and honoring exactly what makes you you.

When the leaders of the world learn to come together in a sacred circle, we will have nothing short of world peace. Can you imagine? Don’t laugh, you have to be able to imagine it first. And the way you take a step towards that, is first creating a sacred circle yourself.

Do your work to heal the world. All life is Sacred.

*I am working on the second version of the divine feminine app which will add profiles to help you find women (people) around you to meet with in a sacred circle. In the meantime, you can still use the app to start a sacred circle, by going to ‘add circle’ and then put in ‘looking to find/start/join a circle’ (or whatever you would like to say) and then other registered women by you can get your email. (See short video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHAvC8meflU )

Start a sacred circle. It’s time to give it another try. What do you have to lose? And we all have so much to gain from it.

Follow Blog via Email

Blog Stats

The divine feminine app has been adding Sacred Circles and events since 2016. It is free to add your Circle or event information and free to search and see the details. In 2019, a Second Version was released with the News, Resource and Profile Member sections. Members make the Divine Feminine App possible, and we appreciate you! You can access the Divine Feminine App at either the website (theDivineFeminineApp.com ) or via a free smartphone app (links at top left of website or search in Itunes and Google Play stores.) The Divine Feminine App is a 'Dandelion Roots' effort (as opposed to Grass Roots - we are much more nourishing) and spread by word of mouth ... changing the world one Sacred Circle at a time.